If it weren’t for The Candy Snatchers covering “Such A Fool” by Rubber City Rebels on their Human Zoo (1998) album, I probably would’ve passed by this record.  From Akron (1977) is a double shot of 1970’s lo-fi midwest garage rock from The Buckeye State split between two bands: side 1 is Bizarros, side 2 is Rubber City Rebels.  Black and white photos of the the band members on the front and back of the jacket show them hanging out on street corners, smoking cigarettes, and shooting pool.  From the get-go, these are a couple of working-class weekend warrior bands. I love that the back cover is cursive handwriting, lending a sincerity and DIY touch to the whole thing.

Side 1 – the Bizarros side – starts off promisingly with “Lady Doubonette,” a down-tempo song. A bass riff is accented by a guitar with midrange cranked, all against a backdrop of an organ. The second track “I Bizarro” is a bit faster and more in keeping with the garage rock that I was expecting.  These first two are the best tracks on this side; unfortunately the rest of the Bizarros’ tracks aren’t very interesting. Sounding like a bland version of early Alice Cooper, I found myself losing interest. Bizarros released a couple of 7″s and in 1979 released a self-titled full length on Mercury Records.

Side 2 – the Rubber City Rebels’ side – is the winner here. It’s faster, heavier and catchier, and lends itself to repeated listenings. It sounds like what The Standells might have written after getting drunk and spinning a few Iggy Pop albums. “Such a Fool” is wonderfully sludgy and pessimistic with one of my all-time favorite lyrics:

“Big time, small time

Man it’s all the same

Big shot, hot shot

They call you what’s-his-name.”

Rubber City Rebels have a penchant for dark humor. The song “Child Eaters” has a shout-out towards the end encouraging women to take one of their kids down to the Rubber City Daycare Center so they can “take care of the little monster.” Another track called “Brain Job” is about having a “headache” in your “pants.”  Rubber City Rebels later released a self-titled album on Capitol (1980) that I’d like to get my hands on.  And much later than that (22 years later!) released a follow-up on Munster called Pierce My Brain (2002.)

Split LPs are usually uneven offerings, but overall From Akron is worth checking out.